Season 2: Highway to Hell
by Crystal Acids
Summary: Picking up after the final seconds of the TV show, we explore a Paradigm City sitting on the edge of destruction.
1. Act 14 - Vini, Vidi, Vici

The Big O : Act 14  
_(Season 2: Highway to Hell)_  
**Vini Vidi Vici**  
by Crystal Acids

Four days have gone by since the meeting of the gods. Four days since the city was whole. Four days since the sun shown again. R. Dorothy Wayneright slowly walked along the balcony of the home of Roger Smith. The building had survived. So had the dome and the people fortunate to live far away from the dingy docks of Paradigm City. Work crews were out in full force to restore the city to its former glory. Some were removing vines, some were repairing the dome sections where Big Duo had made its entrance, and the rest were setting up a wall between Paradigm City and the now defunct harbor region. 

Dorothy looked over the city once again. She suddenly had a cold chill over come her body. "But how?" she wondered. Dorothy hopped onto the ledge and looked out to the old harbor. 

"Is it a memory from the real Dorothy?" she asked quietly to the wind. It gently blew with no answer. 

"Ms. Dorothy?" 

She spun around to see who spoke. She knew *who* it was yet she has this gut reaction to turn around, just the same. Norman Burg stood at the doorway, of course. He was tired. The past few days had been harder on him then anyone else. Well, anyone other than the Major. 

"I forgot to remove the tray of food from Master Roger's room earlier, would you mind getting it while I finish repairs?" Norman asked gently. Norman wasn't sure how Dorothy had taken the past few days with her constant silence. Dorothy's poker face on mood was only offset by her eyes. 

"Of course, Norman." she replied gently. "Shall I also wak.." 

"NO." he spoke quickly. "Master Roger needs his rest." Norman stood at the door for another moment. He was harsh just then.. maybe the long hours of the past few days were getting to him. "No.." he thought, "I just must try harder to keep in order." 

Norman disappeared into the mansion leaving R. Dorothy alone once again. She took one last gaze over the city hoping for an answer she knew would not come. 

***

The bedroom was quiet. Shades drawn and sheets neatly spread across the bed, one might think that the room was empty if there wasn't that still body lying crumpled in the center of the room. The door slowly cracked open and something moved into the room. The glare of light cut through the darkness straight to the center of the room. The body stared for a moment trying to focus on the new disturbance in his room. Then he heard it. Something was in the room and it was moving quickly. The body struggled to listen as the wind cut around him. He would have to gather his strength to stop this intruder. He winced at the pain in his arm as he prepared to leap and snag whoever dared enter his domain. The wind changed directions again and he quickly turned and pounced towards the source of the disturbance. 

**CrAsH!**

Roger's mind was foggy. He still hurt from the other day and now he had a fork poking him in the leg. 

"Roger.." spoke a soft voice. "Have you decided to get up finally?" 

"Finally?" he jokingly questioned. He must have knocked her circuits around a little harder then he thought in that stunt. "Dorothy.. it's only been a day." 

"Actually, Roger, it's been four days." R. Dorothy shot back in the most monotone of voices. 

"Four..." Roger replied softly. Had it been four days? No.. but.. why would she lie to him. "Dorothy.." 

"Yes, Roger?" Dorothy replied. 

"Tell Norman to ready The Griffon. WE are going out." Mr. Smith commanded. 

"Roger.." she softly spoke again. 

"Negotiations are not finished. I have a reputation to maintain." he interupted coldly. 

***

"Had it really been four days?" Roger thought again after Dorothy left. The time had given Roger Smith a chance to figure out a few things. R.D., however, was not one of them for the moment. 

***

On the streets of Paradigm City, you couldn't go past a single block without seeing a construction crew trying to repair the damage of the past few battles. The military police had worked around the clock to secure water & power for the dome citizens. The Griffon sailed through the foggy city towards a familar destination. Roger needed the details of the past few days and something told him that Dastun would be in no mood to talk. The Griffon rumbled on through the city towards the local tavern. 

"Roger.." R. Dorothy broke the silence with. They hadn't talked since the bedroom. She peered out the window waiting for some kind of response as they drove around another corner. He still wouldn't talk. Was he upset with her? R. Dorothy wasn't sure. There was something he wasn't telling her, but she didn't know where it started. Dorothy glanced back at Roger's face only to see his cold glare shooting through his sunglasses towards the road ahead. So many things had happened the past few days. Her only clue was a wad of paper still in his jacket pocket she had found. It was partly burned away, but one could still make out the last name on the list... R.D. It was only important at this point because it was Roger's final words to her four days ago. Roger changed so quickly since Big Duo that it could have been anything, but Dorothy was sure both R.D. and his sudden coldness was connected to the last case Roger took. 

There were several domes along the harbor border and yet only three recieved damage. Amoungst them, only the large casing over Paradigm headquarters was getting the full treatment. Where they were going, however, glass still filled the street. The repair crews grew fewer as The Griffon rounded another corner towards the next dome. 

***

Pulling up to the tavern, Roger Smith slid out and around the car. He rushed towards the door and then caught himself before entering. He need to be professional about this. R. Dorothy Wayneright, on the other hand, brushed Roger aside and walked in. Roger was stunned. Maybe she was trying to tell him something. Maybe he *had been* too hard on her of late. Roger Smith knew Dorothy found the list, but he wasn't going to let her ask *that* question. Not yet, at least. 

Inside the tavern, crowds of street workers and locals jammed the bar during their brief lunches. Roger spotted "Big Ear" in the usual spot doing his usual thing. The world could come to an end tomorrow and yet something told Roger Smith that "Big Ear" wouldn't let it break his routine. 

"The sky is falling, you know.." Smith chipped in as he slowly closed into the seat next to Big Ear. 

"At the moment, that is the least of your problems, Negotiator." Big Ear flatly replied. "I would worry more about the results of the little war on the harbor the other day." 

"Do tell.." responded Smith as he panned across the room looking for Dorothy. He saw her. She was at the bar with some of the workers trying to start a conversation with her. For some reason he just keeps forgeting how real she is. No, that's not correct. "More like wanting to forget how real she is" Roger mumbled under his breath. 

"Hmm?" Big Ear lowly asked. "Have you even heard a word I've said?" 

"Alex Rosewater has Big Duo, he's planning something big and the attack at the harbor has advanced the timetable, and that I have someone on my tail. That it?" Roger gently replied. You should never piss off your informants, but Roger knew the fine line to walk with Big Ear. Roger pulled out a fold of bills and dropped it on the table as he got up and headed towards the door. 

Big Ear dropped his newspaper on the money. "Not all problems can be solved with force, Roger Smith." 

Roger looked back at Big Ear over his shoulder. That one had caught him off guard. "Dorothy, let's go." 

***

The next destination was the old harbor. Roger stared at the road with the occasional glance in Dorothy's direction. She was looking out the window again. "If I didn't know better, I would swear she was daydreaming." he thought. 

"Dorothy, I.. uh.." Roger started. Dorothy's head turned around 180 degrees without even moving her body. Roger looked at her shocked for a moment and quickly locked back onto the road. R. Dorothy rotated the rest of herself around to face him so he wouldn't be as alarmed. 

"Yes, Roger Smith?" she flatly responded. 

"Roger Smith?" he thought. It was as if they had taken a step back in time. "R. Dorothy Wayneright," he started to play it back to her, "I know you went through my jacket and found a piece of paper." 

"And?" she again flatly replied. 

"And? Uh.. and.." Roger stumbled. She had caught him off guard. The second time that happened today. Was he losing his edge? Deeping his voice for command or to at least gain some control in this conversation, "And I need to know if you read it." 

"Yes." yet again she replied flatly. 

"Yes.." he repeated softly. He was getting no where in this. It was like talking to a machine. "Well, I *AM* talking to machine," he thought, "but Dorothy is more then that whether I want to admit it or not.". 

"It was badly burnt, but I could read the last name." she interjected. He was pausing too much for her. She needed to take the lead. 

"I see..." Roger muttered. 

"Who is R.D., Roger Smith?" she coaxed in. She knew of no easy way to approach the subject. Not that Roger Smith would have let himself get baited like that, anyway. 

The car crossed a bridge heading towards the disaster area. The traffic was building up as the military police tried to turn people off to the side streets. The Griffon weaved in and out of the cars. Up ahead a large cement wall could be seen. It now seperated the old harbor from the rest of Paradigm. Along its edge could be seen a border patrol of military police blocking a gap of wall yet to be completed. 

The wall was grey, like the very somber mood of the area. It stood forty feet tall and looked to be ten feet thick. The wall screamed "Go away!" in the most unfriendly of terms. Signs had been driven into the wall warning of no trespassers. Locked away now were the main docks, the secondaries, and blocks of storage wherehouses. Of course, you would have to keep in mind that most of it was rubble now. 

***

Roger Smith pulled up to the blockade. He didn't recognize a single face amoungst the crowd of officers. Something was very wrong here. Roger always knew a few of the officers on duty at any assignment, but these men & women were new. And they didn't look like a volunteer or repair squad. Roger rolled down his car window. 

"Excuse me?" he chimmed in. Two of the "officers" approached the car. They obviously didn't know who he was since they both placed their right hands over their gun holsters. Or, perhaps they DID know who he was. 

"This area is off limits." the larger man grunted. He leaned over and peered into the car. There he caught a glimpse of Dorothy. The large man made a confused face. Roger turned to see what he saw when Roger noticed Dorothy shaking a little. "What's the matter with her?" the cop motioned as his partner walked along the back side towards Dorothy's passenger door. 

"Uh.. Her grandmother is on the other side of that wall. She's worried what may have happened to her." Smith quickly covered with as he leaned over to block the first officer's view of Dorothy. 

"I see. Well.." the large man paused as he looked at his partner who was baffled by the stunt, "all people who lived inside the wall have been moved to the nearby shelter. Head two blocks North and hang a right. You can't miss it." 

"Well, thank-you officer. And keep up the good work." Roger politely said as he rolled the window. Roger shot them a fake grin to seal the deal. 

The two officers smiled and walked back over to their post. The larger man drew out a walkie talkie from his jacket and started talking. Roger was too far away to hear, but he knew that it wasn't good. 

***

Back at the Smith Mansion, Roger walked out onto the balcony to overlook the current shambles the city had become. The car ride back had been another long silent one. Norman opened the newly repaired glass doors and spotted Master Roger deep in thought. To the left, Norman saw Ms. Dorothy standing behind some shrubs. She was looking at Roger. Or his direction from what Norman could tell. 

***

The wind lightly blew across the board as the pawns prepared for the next move. The one thing Alex Rosewater had gained in the repairs was the ability to install cameras to overlook the Smith building. It gave Rosewater a chance to see his puppets dance instead of just reaping the rewards. 

***

"Cleansing." Dorothy finally broke the silence with. 

"Hmm?" Roger replied. He hadn't even seen her out here with him. Maybe she had been right the other day. Maybe he just wasn't paying enough attention. That he just wasn't around enough to notice her presence. 

"What the officer was talking about. It is what you wanted to know, isn't it Roger Smith?" she added with light flatness. 

"You can read lips now?" Roger jokingly replied. 

"Yes. But, I can also hear people even from a distance." she matched again in the same tone. "He was talking about the cleansing of the streets of the clot holding it back." 

"Anything else?" Roger inquired. She had sparked his intrest. 

"Yes. They knew who you were. I would reason that every Paradigm Group employee knows who you are, Roger Smith." R. Dorothy relayed. 

"Paradigm! What is Paradigm doing on the harbor? They never cared for those people or the land before." spatted Roger angerly. Then it hit him. Rosewater had Big Duo. With Paradigm Group running the military police, Rosewater could have access to any megadeus parts he needed from the bodies left by The Big O. "Big Ear" had said that the last battle had advanced Rosewater's timetable. 

***

Roger Smith sped towards the Paradigm Group headquarters dodging traffic as he kept speeding up. The Griffon's horn rang out like gun shots as the car made its way through the asphalt maze. The Negotiator's mind ran through the events of four days ago trying to link their meanings with Rosewater's actions. 

***

**Be Continued...**


	2. Act 15 - 3, 2, 1 (Rough Draft 1 Ed)

The Big O : Act 15  
_(Season 2: Highway to Hell)_  
**3, 2, 1**  
_(Rough Draft 1 Edition)_  
by Crystal Acids

**FOREWORD:** Main difference between this and the final is some tighter dialogue and that it was finished. At the start I added about two paragraphs telling how Angel gets back to the office so quick and small talk with the "boss". Otherwise, all that's missing is the actual ending. A summary version has been added to the end of this file.

----------

Note: These events take place four days previous to Act 14. In other words, starting just seconds after Act 13 of the TV series ended. To bring you up to speed: 

The sky was bright and sunny. The sea, however, was as choppy as a stormy night with a hurricane blowing in. Along the harbor shore was the military police in full force. They had quickly established themselves as a defensive wall between the incoming nightmares and the ravaged city behind them. Standing just ahead of the military police was another well known Paradigm City citizen: The Big O. The stage was set as Roger Smith and R. Dorothy Wayneright stood ready to do battle once more. The Big O's powerful beam rips out across the sea... 

***

...and scored a direct hit on the center megadeus. 

The center megadeus was the Atlas. A heavy armor unit with the head slightly offset being a part of the chest on the right shoulder but the face resembled that of an iron mask forced on a human for torture. The main body, arms, and legs were all thick. The Atlas took the hit to the chest and it didn't even slow the megadeus down. However, the Atlas was not going to leave The Big O without a response. The head lifted outwards and then rotated to the top of the body. The chest cover folded open to reveal row after deadly row of missiles in a spiral placement. 

On the shore, Major Dastun ordered his troops to position themselves behind the mobile armor vehicles. Major Dastun grabbed the C.B. inside one of the vehicles and got on the horn. 

"This is Major Dastun, over" he shouted. 

"Major Dastun, this is dispatch headquarters, report over." came a female voice. 

"We need backup, immediately! Have all citizens within a 15 block radius evacuated, over." Dastun replied. 

"Roger, Major Dastun. Backup units are on route, over." replied the same soft voice. 

Dastun tossed the C.B. unit back into the armor car and snagged the bullhorn. 

"Alright, troops. I want anyone not handling heavy artillery to pull back and evacuate the surrounding blocks. Move it!" the Major barked. 

***

Patricia Lovejoy lowered the C.B. mic down and looked behind her. Located in the Paradigm Group's main office on the top floor, she looked around through the glass to the city below. Rosewater had given her the strict order to stay up here in his office. Normally, she wouldn't think twice about an order issued to her from Alex Rosewater, but this was different. Memories were one thing but.. this was playing with human lives. 

***

Inside The Big O, Roger Smith and R. Dorothy Wayneright were both a little stunned over the past thirty seconds of events. Sure, the beam wasn't known to destroy everything it hit, but the Atlas didn't even flinch. 

"Dorothy, I think we're going to have to do this the old fashion way." Roger spoke, slightly shocked still. 

"I understand," replied Dorothy, "I can adjust to whatever condition we face." 

"That's good," Roger lightly phrased as he nodded. Smith's arm was bothering him and the temporary bandage R. Dorothy had applied was only prolonging the bloodloss. And yet she knew he would need her at his side for this. 

The Big O stepped forward into the cold sea to close the distance between the four warriors. Roger knew that Dastun would need time to clear out the locals and Roger aimed at filling that need. The Big O's arms raised toward a more defensive boxing position. The Atlas still had its missile banks open and was moving forward, but the other two had stopped when Big O started into the sea. "Are humans piloting these?" Roger wondered. 

***

Lovejoy sat quietly in the oversized office floor. "Why is this bothering me so much?" pondered the blonde secretary. Lovejoy slowly took off her fake glasses and placed them on the table next to the C.B. radio. Turning, she walked towards the side facing towards the harbor area. 

***

"Damn, where is that backup?" Major Dastun shouted at no one in particular. Several officers turned around and shrugged. "Something's not right," he thought, "I know every member on the force and she didn't sound familiar." 

***

The titans approached each other. Atlas with the head moved was towering over the equally powerful Big O now. At this close of a range, missiles would end up damaging both warriors from the flak, but that didn't mean it would stop them from using that option. Roger scanned over the megadeus looking for some kind of weakness. Smith's eyes were clouding over from the stress and wound. He needed a quick stalemate or an impressive victory if he was to end this quickly. 

"Stalemate, Roger Smith." Dorothy kicked in flatly. 

"What do you mean?" Roger questioned. 

Before Dorothy could explain, the Atlas took a few steps back. Roger quickly swung across the controls to get some distance between them, as well. Roger knew what was coming. "First rule of engagement, size up your opponent." he quietly thought. The Big O's arms raised to full block as Roger reversed his actions and forced The Big O to charge towards the Atlas. At the same time, the Atlas released the first wave of missiles at the closing Big O. 

The missiles ripped across the forearms of The Big O with little damage and didn't keep it from charging forward. 

"Roger, the city!" Dorothy exclaimed. Rare but important, Roger cocked his head back only to see a pack of missiles freely heading towards the harbor. 

Roger swung the controls once again and winced. Dorothy had been matching his every move but the sudden crisis had thrown her off sync. The Big O turned and started to fall on its left side before R. Dorothy composed herself and helped straighten the megadeus out. Roger knew that only one thing could stop the missiles without severally damaging the city. 

"We need to punch." he spoke quickly as his hands darted over the controls to activate the pressure valves. 

"I'll aim, you fire." Dorothy confirmed in step. It was a long shot on aiming a high-pressure blast at something so small, but Dorothy knew just where to target. 

***

"Incoming missiles," shouted an officer. 

"Aim and fire. Take them out before they reach the shore." the Major ordered. Dastun grabbed a shoulder missile launcher and pointed towards the swarm of trouble. 

***

The Big O's pressure arm unlocked and pulled back to full strength. In one swoop, the pressure cannon fired and The Big O was hit from behind by the Atlas. The cannon rang out but the blast was knocked downwards into the sea to a huge splash like throwing a boulder into a pond. 

"Aim again, " Roger ordered. 

"It's too late." Dorothy replied in an almost sad tone. They could only helplessly watch the city be hit or they could return the favor ten fold. Smith & Wayneright chose the latter. 

The Big O faced the three invaders. A loud explosion could be heard in the distance behind Roger and Dorothy. 

***

"Good shot, sir!" shouted several of the officers and other cheered. 

"Get ready for another wave," barked Dastun, "we can't let them have all the fun now, can we?" Major Dastun grinned. He was damn lucky and he knew it, but there was something about pulling off the impossible that you just couldn't help but smile at. 

***

"I have an idea," Roger broke the tension with. "Aim the arm just before the feet of the megadeus." Roger was looking for a way to stop the onslaught before the other two warriors decided to join in. Dorothy simply turned and acknowledged that she had acquired the target. Roger grinned and pushed the fire trigger. 

The Big O's arm pin pulled back to full strength once again and then ripped into the sea with a mighty blast just below the Atlas. The ocean floor, briefly, could be seen as the ocean worked on filling the sudden gap. The Atlas lost its balance in the sudden current changes and fell face forward into the now swirling sea. 

"Prepare to fire, again" he said proudly. Roger knew he had only angered his opponent. Dorothy, once again, handled the controls to engage the pressure valves. Roger's arm was growing limp, but the pseudo replacement knew the motions with great skill. 

The sea rumbled as the Atlas rose from its cold grave like a boxer dizzy from a knockdown. The Big O aimed straight for the head in hopes to collapse the frame with the head as a its cannonball. Immediately, the Atlas' body pulled backwards and another furry of missiles streaked out over the fifteen feet of distance between the two. Dorothy adjusted her thumb and pushed the fire trigger before Roger could react. 

***

A huge fireball could be seen from the harbor shore. The both victims were blown backwards with the Atlas crashing into its two partners and The Big O taking a backbuster into the deep blue sea. The officers stood in shock. Could either have survived that devastating blow? 

***

The cockpit was dark with the exception of light being given off by the fires. R. Dorothy Wayneright laid unconscious with the edges of her skirt starting to burn. Roger, on the other hand, had been thrown for whiplash but kept in his seat due to his legs catching on the arm controls. His head was spinning but he couldn't open his eyes. Smoke was filling the room. He couldn't breathe. 

"I need to get up," he thought. "I *have* to get up" his mind screamed. Roger forced his eyes open only to be greeted by a fuzzy darkness. 

"Dorothy...?" a weak voiced Smith called. "Dorothy, are you alright?" No response. 

Smith looked to his back left to see where the dim light was coming from. Dorothy laid in the corner of the ceiling with her dress quickly starting to burn away. Roger tried to unlock the arm controls, but they were stuck. He folded in his legs and pushed himself out of the seat. Turning over he grabbed his coat and tossed it onto Dorothy's skirt. Roger positioned himself and then reached out to smother the red devils nipping at Dorothy. Roger tried to lean further over to pull her up but she weighed too much for his angle of approach. Roger slipped his hands onto the wall grooves and pulled himself out of the seat fully to slip down next to Dorothy's lifeless body. 

Tossing the coat onto the original source, Roger smothered the fire out but the jacket was badly burnt in the process. He looked over the lifeless body in front of him trying to see if Ms. Wayneright had suffered any major blows. Her legs were a little blacked from soot of the partly destroyed dress but nothing major physically that he could tell in the darkness. Dorothy's red hair had been flailed about in the fall, but Roger could see nothing bad enough to have knocked her out. Roger slipped his able arm under her head to check for any dents but felt nothing. 

"Dorothy.." Roger tried again softly. A long silence came back. Roger could here the ocean moving about The Big O. He knew the seal between them and the sea wouldn't last long. The cockpit pressure was obviously lessening, as the other small fires grew dim. 

"Roojaar...." came a weak metallic voice from the darkness. Roger looked down to see R. Dorothy slowly open her eyes. 

A loud thunder came from outside the small room. He could hear footsteps crashing along the sandy sea bottom. Three pairs were on the move and passing them to head towards the harbor. 

***

From the shore, it was obvious that the three challengers were heading inland again. To the left of the Atlas was the Glyphein. A tall body with a long mug with drills for hands and a metal feather on its cap. Unlike the Atlas, Glyphein looked to be a more hand-to-hand combat megadeus. To the right of the Atlas was the Minotaur. Tall like the Glyphein, the Minotaur had a thicker body and more rounded head. Horns sat on top of the Minotaur while the arms held steady at a forty-five degree angle. 

"Oh no!" the Major said under his breath. "Is.. is the megadeus finished?" he thought while his face reflected his internal emotions. 

"Sir. Orders, sir?" came young voice from behind Dastun. 

"Is everyone clear yet?" Dastun asked without turning. 

"No sir," his voice responded in a frantic tone, "and backup has yet to arrive." 

"Then we fight." the Major mumbled as he reached down for his bullhorn once again. "Listen up," he shouted with command, "the minute they are in range you are to fire at will. When you run out, fall back and join the evacuation team. Get these people cleared out." A silent nod of approval came from his fellow officers. 

***

Patricia Lovejoy sat crumpled on the floor next to the omni-scenic view. Her left arm rested along the glass pane as she held her head down in shame. Her dress was damp around the knees and a small puddle was starting to form on the floor Patricia was sprawled upon. She made no sound. She just stared at the floor with the harbor in view. 

***

"Rooo.. jaaar.." she tried again. R. Dorothy's vocal ability was damaged, but Roger couldn't see anything that would have caused it. 

"Still, she obviously took the hit hard." Roger thought. "Don't speak... Can.. Can you move Dorothy." he questioned with concern. Dorothy laid still for a moment. "Well?" he lightly added. 

R. Dorothy Wayneright sat up and then repositioned her arms behind herself to keep steady. She glanced down at the rest of her body. She noticed her dress had gotten burned. 

"My dress seems to.." she started slightly off key. 

"We'll worry about that later." he stopped Dorothy with. She turned and saw his jacket in the corner still smoldering. 

"Your jacket seems to.." she started again. 

"Again, we'll worry about that later." Roger interrupted her with. "Can you move?" 

"Of course." she flatly replied. Her voice was still had a metallic tone but was seemingly correcting itself. 

Dorothy gripped the sidewalls and hoisted herself up. Roger slowly stood up and looked around for a way to fix their dilemma. The metal began to squeal as the air pressure dropped. Roger grabbed a sidewall and the control panel trying to pull himself back into the command chair when Dorothy stepped over. She grabbed one of his feet and raised it. Roger, on the other hand, wasn't expecting the boost and fell over the hump to the seat headfirst. 

"Dorothy.." he started. 

"Your welcome." she broke in with. 

"Well.." he came back with as Mr. Smith readjusted himself into the chair. "I think we've had a long enough break." R. Dorothy nodded. She could see he was in alot of pain, but wasn't going to spoil his attempts to hide it in humor. 

Roger started looking over the controls when a light popped on from behind him. 

"Thank-you, Dorothy." Roger said in a flat humor reply. 

Again, he looked over the controls. Gripping the arm controls, Roger pulled the two units forward with resistance as the arms of The Big O struggled to move through the thick ocean water. Flipping a few more switches, The Big O slowly started to sit up until the upper chest and head were out of the water. Roger flipped another switch and the cockpit cover began to rise. The salty sea air flooded the small cabin along with the beams of sunlight. Dorothy hopped back behind Roger's chair again to help control the left and right arm movements. It was Dorothy who had done the aiming on both, but Roger still kept his hands on the arm stick controls. 

Another loud explosion ripped across the shore behind The Big O. Dorothy popped a switch to close the hatch. She looked over at Roger who only smiled. Roger motioned with his head towards the harbor. She responded with a nod and a brief matching smile. 

***

"Pull back! Pull back!" shouted Dastun over his bullhorn; "I want everyone to regroup two blocks back from this point." 

The military police had struggled for only a few minutes, but it was already a lifetime for some of them. The bank of the harbor was covered in rubble and bodies. Where once stood buildings and warehouses now stood crumbling tombs. The military police had not even put a dent into the armor of the attackers. Sure, the missiles had helped delay the first volleys of air intruders, but nothing could hold back the beams that came from their eyes. 

Another beam shot across Major Dastun's head as it hit the dome in the distance. Panels shattered and siren wails could be heard for miles around. Dastun looked around. 

"You, you, and you" he said quickly two three armor transport drivers, "Grab an armor vehicle and follow me." Dastun hopped in to his own mobile fortress and pealed out as the giants took to the shore and first blocks of chaos. 

***

The Big O chugged through the water heading inland. Attacking them with the city behind them was not an option at the moment. However, The Big O always has another option available for Roger Smith. Dorothy aimed the first anchor at the back of the Glyphein while Smith kept them charging but steady. From off shore one could see the true level of damage inflicted so far. Block after block of city street had been flattened from the weapons fire. 

The Big O hit the beach in stride as Dorothy fired the first anchor. It sailed fast and furious towards the Glyphein as the chained wailed over the speed. The anchor started to pierce the back of the drill god. Roger smiled as he saw the anchor slice vertically through the center and poke out of the chest. 

***

Dastun rounded another corner with three additional armor vehicles in close tow. He wanted this to be a frontal assault. Spotting the Glyphein to his right, the Major made a hard right turn and charged forward. Increasing his speed, Dastun suddenly noticed a spike pop out of the Glyphein's chest. Baffled, he slowed down only to see the Glyphein go flying backwards. Then he saw The Big O, with chain in hand, dragging the Glyphein into its arms. The Major smiles because he saw the silver pin unlock from its arm casing. 

***

The Big O's left arm hoisted the Glyphein up by the black chain. The megadeus swung frantically with its drill arms trying to get a good swipe at its captor. Inside Roger Smith smiled. 

"You know, they just don't build them like they used to." he joking stated. 

"How do you know?" Dorothy came back with flatly. 

"Umm.. hmm.." Roger responded. He wasn't sure if Dorothy was serious or not. "Shall we?" he added to avoid the question. Dorothy nodded and pulled back the right arm. "Bye-bye." Roger cheerfully added as Dorothy connected with the Glyphein's head. 

The explosion was tremendous. The Glyphein's body was blasted off of the anchor and flew crashing into some partly destroyed docks along the shore. Roger turned them around to see the other two warriors still causing havoc. Close to the domes was the Atlas who had already created an oversized door to enter through. Still in the harbor area was the Minotaur who was enjoying the sea life and the slice he could cut out with his beams. 

"City or the harbor?" Roger thought to himself, "Dan must have cleared out everyone by now.." 

"Dorothy.." Roger began, "let's head uptown. We have a date with a megadeus." 

"What about the other one?" she inquired. 

The Big O turned towards the Minotaur. From its other side, The Big O released its second anchor and caught the Minotaur halfway through the back. 

"He's coming with us." Roger replied with a smile. 

The Big O started heading for the Atlas while retracting both anchors. The Minotaur, understandably, was not a willing participant in this venture. The Minotaur turned around and fired a beam at The Big O's head but it just bounced off. Roger pulled back the right arm and grabbed the still retracting chain holding the Minotaur. In one pull, the beast was turned backwards and fell back onto the anchor. The anchor was driven deep, this time, popping almost completely through. 

***

"Yeah!" exclaimed the Major, once again as he watched from a distance. "Have all troops focus on the one inside the dome," he relayed to an officer on his C.B. unit. 

Major Dastun had pulled out of the harbor and joined the rest of the force several blocks inland after the first megadeus went down. However, the battle was not over yet. Power for half the city had been cut off with all the damage and the two largest water pipelines had collapsed under the pressure of the falling high-rises that sat on the interior dome border. The streets were lined with dead and wounded, but not as bad as it got out towards the harbor area. 

"And have medical hurry up and get to these people," he continued, "If they need to, have headquarters authorize their using our troop carriers. These people need to get to safety." 

***

Patricia Lovejoy had been on a rollercoaster ride of emotions the past few minutes. For every good, there was an equally bad event. Only a few large patches of glass were still a part of the domes that faced out to the harbor. Everything else had been shattered or taken with the collapse of a building. Explosion after explosion had rocked both the interior and exterior of the domes. And sitting helpless in total safety was the shell of her former self. 

***

The Minotaur lay lifeless infront of The Big O. Roger was confused. Had the anchor cut through its power source? 

"Well, I guess we can knock that one up to luck." Roger finally spoke. The more pain he was in the worse the jokes seem to get. 

"Master Roger?" a voice came. 

"Norman?" Roger answered. 

"Oh good, you don't know how long I've been trying to contact you sir." Norman replied happily. "Will you be home in time for dinner?" 

"Yes, Norman." Roger Smith jokingly replied like a child to their overly worried parent. "And have the medical equipment ready." 

"You're not hurt, are you sir?" Norman asked with a monotone worry. 

"Nothing major.." Roger replied. He looked over his shoulder at Dorothy. She was transfixed on the lifeless megadeus. He didn't want to alarm her of how bad he really was right then. Roger turned back towards the monitor with Norman. 

"Understood, sir." Norman nodded. "I shall see you when you finish." 

***

Norman Burg turned off the monitor. Master Roger was very pale. Norman didn't know the details, but the Master obviously didn't want to alarm Dorothy standing next to him. Norman turned on another monitor. On the screen appeared a lifeless megadeus on top of a pile of rubble. 

***

End to Act 15: _Roger is out cold (loss of blood) and Dorothy (with Norman's assistance) gets the Big O back into the transport. The 3rd megadeus continues on. In the end, Dan has the city blocks (which we see destroyed in 14) wired with explosives. He's gonna collapse the buildings on the megadeus as it goes down the street. He gives the order to clear the buildings but they aren't done yet when the megadeus arrives. Dan decides NOT to hit the switch so that everyone can get clear. The "officer" Roger met in 14 runs over and hits the switch. Angel, after leaving the office in tears, arrives at the scene to see everything go to hell._

This sets up the original Rough Draft for Act 16.


	3. Act 15 - 3, 2, 1 (Rough Draft 2 Ed)

The Big O : Act 15  
_(Season 2: Highway to Hell)_  
**3, 2, 1**  
_(Rough Draft 2 Edition)_  
by Crystal Acids

**FOREWORD:** Some cleaner dialogue and action. I stopped because I thought the adding of Dr. Ari this early just sucked. I liked the Angel idea better. Never ever touched after Ari was added.

----------

Note: These events take place four days previous to Act 14. In other words, starting just seconds after Act 13 of the TV series ended. To bring you up to speed: 

The sky was bright and sunny. The sea, however, wasn't as forgiving. Across the choppy water arose three giants like hurricane blowing in. Along the harbor shore was the military police in full force. Major Dastun had quickly established themselves as a defensive wall between the incoming nightmares and the ravaged city behind them. Moving into position just ahead of the military police was another well known Paradigm City citizen: Big O. The stage was set as Roger Smith and R. Dorothy Wayneright stood ready to do battle once more against impossible odds. Roger smiled as he flipped the switch to activate the Big O's powerful beam. The Chromebuster ripped out across the sea... 

***

...and scored a direct hit on the center megadeus. Yet, is still approached unfazed by the blast. 

Atlas, the center megadeus, was a heavy armor unit. The head was slightly offset and appeared to be a part of the chest on the right shoulder while the face resembled that of an iron mask forced on a human for torture. The Atlas had taken the blast to its thick chest, but showed no inkling of damage. Roger and Dorothy glanced at each other with each shrugging off a vocal thought. Atlas, however, was not going to leave the effort unchallenged. The head lifted outwards and then rotated backwards to the top of the body. The chest cover folded open to reveal row after deadly row of missiles in a spiral design. 

On the shore, Major Dastun ordered his troops to position themselves behind the mobile armor vehicles. Dastun grabbed the C.B. inside one of the vehicles and called in. 

"This is Major Dastun, over" he shouted in a gruff tone. 

"Major Dastun, this is dispatch headquarters, over." came a female voice. 

"We need backup immediately the harbor area! I need all citizens within a 15 block radius evacuated, over." Dastun replied. 

"Roger, Major Dastun. Backup units are on route, over." replied the same soft voice. 

Dastun tossed the C.B. unit back into the armor car and snagged the bullhorn. He adjusted his hat before addressing his troops. 

"Alright, men. I want anyone not handling heavy artillery to pull back and evacuate the surrounding blocks. I need all buildings within a 15 block radius cleared. Move out!" the Major barked. 

***

Dr. Ari lowered her radio headset down and looked behind her. Located in the Paradigm Group's main office on the top floor, she looked around through the glass to the city below. Rosewater had given her the strict order to stay up in his office and monitor police communications. Normally, she would have protested such an idea issued to her from Alex Rosewater, but this was different. A tall figure walked back into the room from the exterior extension. All she could do was nod as Rosewater looked in her direction. 

***


	4. Act 16 - Blood & Roses - Hazel Love (Rou...

The Big O : Act 16  
_(Season 2: Highway to Hell)_  
**Blood & Roses  
(Hazel Love)**  
_(Rough Draft 2 Edition)_  
by Crystal Acids

**FOREWORD:** Less violent and sex filled than the original. Rough Draft 1 started with Dan in bed with Hazel Love (originally, a split personallity of Angel from the trauma of Act 15 + all her double talk in the first 13 episodes. Act 17 actually starts off by refering to that scene in Rough Draft 1.) Also, it involved a much more violent scene with Big Ear (think Godfather) with many people involved.

Another change from RD1 is that a bridge original explodes as Dan tries to get out of the city. The one true thing to survive is a version of meeting the prototype police car (Batman:TAS referance). Both RD 1 and RD 2 end the same way with Roger seeing Dan in the car (about a few seconds after Act 14 ends).

In this version, Hazel is a *new* person instead of a split. Again, I like the original idea better. Fairly complete, otherwise.

----------

"Roger?" a female voice spoke, "Roger Smith? Oh yes, I know who he is. He comes in here all the time." 

Dan Dastun stood within the entrance covering of Instro's small pub. Up the stairs led to dark clouds and darker memories of the past few days but here Dan like felt he was in the light. Dan shook it all off. He was looking for answers and somehow he knew his old friend Lt. Smith was involved. He took another deep breath and looked up to meet the pair of eyes staring at him from the cracked open door. From the darkness came a pair of large hazelnut eyes. A few wisps of brunette hair strayed across her smiling face as she leaned through the crack a little further to give Dan a better view. 

"Has he.. uhh," Dan began to stutter. He felt more like a schoolboy trying to ask a girl out for the first time then the cool but angry officer he was known for. Her subtle beauty was throwing him off his game. 

"Has he.. what?" she gingerly asked with a small grin. "Men are so cute trying to act all big when they're attracted to a woman," she thought quietly. 

"Has been he lately by?" Dan came back with easily while trying to gain some composure. Dan thought about those words for a moment and winced deep inside. "I mean, has he been by lately?" Dan was turning a shade of dark red. 

"Not for a few days," she smiled, "but you might want to talk to Instro. He goes over there a lot to teach piano. I think he's smitten with the girl prodigy." She giggled. "But he better not get any ideas," she added with a button-nose grin. 

"I see…," Dan said drawing a blank, "well, is Instro in at the moment?" Dan knew the answer to this question. 

"Nope, sorry." she replied. "He may be gone all day." She said the last part with a slight pout. 

Dan debated the last part of that statement for a second before throwing it out of his mind. He thanked her for her time and turned back towards the stairway to the street when he heard the door behind him open wide. A slim hand touched his right shoulder before spinning him 180 degrees into the welcoming arms of a perky nineteen-year-old brunette. She gave Dan a quick squeeze around the waist before he could react any further. Dan was speechless. 

"You will come inside and wait for him, won't you?" she asked looking up with her big doe eyes. 

"I.. uhh." He was stammering again. "Uhh, sure.." came out with some uneasiness. 

The pub was very dark inside. Chairs were stacked upside-down on the tabletops and the floor looked a little dusty. The happy guide walked across the room and motioned Dan to come around the wall next to the bar and up the stairs. Still uneasy, Dan sulked through the maze of tables and over to the stairs. Dan caught a glimpse of her backside up the stairs as she left the darkness of the stairwell for the light of the next room. 

Dan walked into a large studio flat that had been hidden away above the bar. Looking around, the Major couldn't see why the room was so bright beyond the pure whiteness of the walls. The mysterious woman walked across the wooden floorboards to her small couch in the center of the room. She beckoned Dan to come over and sit next to her. 

"Don't worry," she added cheerfully, "I don't bite." For the first time, one could fully see her artistic style of dressing. The white tee shirt was stained with various strokes of colors from painting and her jeans revealed even more streaks from wiping paint off her delicate hands. Dan tried to look other places but one couldn't help but notice the lengthy gashes across the blue fields and the pink underneath that was slowly fleeing its confines for freedom. 

Taking a seat and then sliding away from the young artist left Dan feeling awkward again. He glanced around the room and started to notice small paintings stack everywhere. Some were finished and some were still going through the motions. All of her artwork seemed to be centered around Paradigm City or at least some version of it. In one image, some skyscrapers stood tall; free of the domes and shadows cast from the hanging clouds. 

"Where did all these come from?" he asked with amazement. The paintings seemed so real to him, but he didn't know why. 

"They just pop in my head and then I put it on to the canvas." She answered. "I don't know why I keep seeing them, but I just can't help it." She reached over and lifted a large painting leaning on the couch side. "This one," she continued, "I did the other day while at the harbor." 

Dan was a little uneasy with the memory of past events coming up, but he tried not to show any emotion in front of the girl. Training his eyes to slowly pan over the canvas, Dan noticed that the subject was not of the harbor as it is or even was. In fact, the picture revealed a new harbor with shopping malls, residential zones, and happy citizens. It looked like a concept drawing of the future. 

"A man asked me to paint this," she interrupted his thoughts with, "and offered a large some of money in advance. Since I have been burdening Instro for so long by staying here, I decided to take the job." She looked into Dan's eyes, "Do you think he will like it?" 

"It looks very picturesque, if you ask me." Dan assured her, "Who, may I ask, is the man with the deep pockets and passion for fine art?" 

"I don't really know his name," she conceded, "but he told me that when I finish I could leave it at the front desk of the Paradigm Group office and they would take care of it from there. He had a secretary with him.." she paused to think for a moment, "Casseey, that was the name. I remember it had Casseey in it." She leaned the painting against the couch again and stood up. 

Dan smiled, "Well, I'm sure he'll enjoy it whoever he is." Inside, Dan had an idea who the art collector was and would follow that trail next. Dan stood up as the young lady walked over to a dresser and pulled out a long overcoat. Dan looked at his watch and knew he had already spent too much time here. "I guess I'll catch up with Instro another time." Dastun stated as he headed over to the stairs. 

"I'll walk you out," her chipper voice returned. 

Outside the pub door again, Dan tipped his hat and smiled before heading up the stairs. It hit him half way up that he had never actually gotten her name. Turning around, Dan noticed her watching him trek up the stairwell. 

"Uhh, I never caught your name in all this. Miss..?" Dan politely asked. 

"Love." She responded. "Hazel Love." Her eyes lit up and a warm smile went across her face. 

"Well, thank you for all your help Miss Love.." Dan started. 

"Hazel," she responded with a coy grin, " YOU can call me Hazel." 

And with that, she bounced into the darkness of the pub once again. Dan stood there bewildered once again at the hands of one Hazel Love. 

***

The bar was fairly noise. "Big Ear" glanced over the top rim of his glasses at all the construction workers sitting at the bar. Shaking his head, he returned to his newspaper looking for the usual signs. "One's work is never done." he thought quietly to himself as he noticed a dark body brush behind him and plop down in one of the other seats available at his table. Annoyed, Big Ear folded his paper neatly and dropped it onto the table next to his drink. The voice spoke before he even looked up. 

"You know.. you really are slime." the voice said coldly, "And because of this it is never hard to find your trail." 

Big Ear shot the rude patron a dirty look. Slowly reaching for his glass, the patron grabbed his arm and shook it for a moment before releasing it. Big Ear retracted his arm and brushed off the "contact" he had received. 

"And since when do you make house calls, Dastun." he answered with a glare to match the mean look he was receiving. "You know, this could be considered an intrusion on my rights as a citizen." 

"Your scum, you have no rights unless I give you one," Dastun started to grin, "and I wouldn't lose any sleep over waiting, if I were you." 

"Is there a point to this, I am working here." Big Ear reached into his jacket and pulled out a pad and ballpoint pen. "I know why you're here, detective." he added with a slight grin, "Feeling guilty over killing civilians AND your own men in a useless war?" 

Dastun gave Big Ear a cross check with the fist shape of his left hand. Big Ears glasses were knocked to the floor while a red impression glowed on his cheek. Dastun covered his left hand with his right and popped the knuckles. 

"That's Major." Dastun noticed that not a single customer was paying attention to their argument inside the bar. "Care to re-phrase the last statement?" Dastun smiled. He had been needing to release some feelings for awhile now. And Big Ear was the perfect punching bag. 

"A love tap, your very kind," Big Ear spatted out as he lifted his cold glass to the dull ache of his cheek. "And what is this visit concerning..." 

"Rosewater." Dan said in a low tone. 

"Rosewater..?" came a surprised reply. "Aren't dogs taught not to bite the hand that feeds them?" Ear said with a coy grin. 

"Would you care to continue this discussion at the station?" the Major came back with. 

"And why would we do that?" the bar fly asked, "You don't think I didn't know your badge was pulled after that stunt the other day?" 

Dan grew angry. In one swift motion he stood up and backhanded Big Ear. Ear flew back in his chair and crashed into the next table a few feet away. The local patrons tried their best not to stare at the action. No one wanted to be involved. Big Ear rolled over onto his chest and started to get up. Dan walked over and nailed Ear at the small of his back with his thick, black-sole boots. Big laid on the floor coughing. 

"Abuse," Big Ear sputtered, "second to last action of a true coward." Big started to get up and but a swift kick into the ribs from Dan laid him out again on his back another few feet away. "Punch me.." he coughed out lowly, "kick me.. kill me.. do all your victims get this much attention before..." Big Ear shot Dan a bloody grin. 

Dastun walked over and grabbed the back of Big Ear's shirt. Pulling him up to a half hunch in the middle of the room, Dan pulled out another chair and thrusted Big Ear into it. Ear barely moved. Covered with small trails of blood flowing to and from unknown sources, he looked more like the passenger in a car accident than a bar brawl participant. 

"Who gave the order?" he shouted. Dan noticed that many of the patrons had quietly fled during the few seconds of scuffle. Returning to his current target he scanned over Big Ear's slump of a body. 

***

Dan walked around his car to the driver's side. Glancing back, he examined the broken glass and slumped body laying on the bar floor just beyond the shattered window. In the distance, one could hear sirens wailing. Dastun slid into his car seat and turned on his police radio as he pulled away. 

***

The car roared up to an abandoned warehouse on the edge of the city limits. Pulling around the long side away from the road, it nudged into the vast darkness revealed from an open cargo door. The building was dusty. Unused since the early days of the Event, no one had ever expanded back out to the true border of Paradigm City. Here, criminals and the unwanted could seek true refuge from the unblinking eye of higher society. 

Dan stepped out of his old squad car that was retired when he was promoted to major. Unmarked, it help serve him in the early days of the force. The rust blended in with the brown paint job, but nothing of the current force could compare to its refitted engine, shocks, and tires. That fact had been proven just a few minutes ago. 

Turning on a flashlight, Dan walked back over to the cargo door entrance and pulled it closed. The door rustled and clanged as it shut off contact with the outside world. Dan pulled down a lever on the wall near the door to lock it down. His attention then focused a spot in a black part of the warehouse. Dan walked over to empty region and shined his flashlight to reveal a shiny black two door sports car resembling a '70s Ford Mustang. A smile walked across his face. 

***

On the road again, Dan adjusted to driving the smaller and stronger Mustang over his most recent rides. Developed by Dastun and a two other friends on the force a few years ago, the Mustang was the end result of retooling the standard military police car package into a better frame for long term work. Bullet proof glass, an experimental type of armor built under the metal exterior, and an engine which could only be described as a 24-valve titan on steroids were all "standard". However, the final cost to develop the prototype gave the Paradigm Group reason to shutdown the project and approve what is the now standard patrol car. Upset, the three filed the paperwork into the trunk and let Dan hide it so that the Paradigm Group couldn't enjoy the fruits of their labor. Now, it was lending a helping hand to its lead creator to payback the original people who tried to end its career. 

The internal radio squawked with static as the former Major rolled through the dials to find the current military police band. Standard procedure was to change the default settings whenever a upper rank officer retired or released. The stunts in the city earlier had been aided by the fact that no one seemed to have changed the channel yet. Dan pulled out and onto the largest bridge connecting Paradigm City to the outside world. The Paradigm Group headquarters was located directly at the end of the road that crossed over the bridge and into the heart of the domed sections. The radio started to moan in and out as the channel began to clear up. Dastun kept focusing between the road and his tuning. Fading in came the familiar voice of dispatch issuing orders to various patrol cars. 

"Roger, 313." a deep voice spoke. 

"No sign of him, over." a softer voice cracked in. 

Dan tried to decipher the communications running on top of each other in hopes that the police had given up an active search for him. Within minutes he had a working model in his own mind where units were posted and the activities each was carrying out. No one, it seems, had given Dan a second thought after he crossed the bridge and headed for the outskirts of town. This was puzzling to Dastun since he should be considered a dangerous criminal for his actions, his own or not, of the past few days. Something in the back of Dan's mind said this wasn't right. But, the former Major also knew that all the answers would lead to Alex Rosewater for the final truth. 

Dusk had set in as Dan crossed into the protection of the domes. He debated swinging by Roger Smith's home briefly to get some advice, if not help altogether. The thought flew out as quickly as it had come in and Dastun decided he would handle this problem on his own at first. There was no true needed to get Smith's hands soiled in this dirty little war the Major had become trapped within. 

A loud honk started to rattle out a couple of cars behind Dastun. Glancing into the mirror, Dan saw the familiar black car owned by one Roger Smith. The Griffon pulled up along side Dan's Mustang, but Mr. Smith didn't notice who its driver was immediately. 

***

Roger stared for a moment. Was it real? Was this real? Did he really see the Major behind the wheel of a sports car? Roger gave a slight nod when the other driver turned his attention back to the car riding along beside his. Dastun nodded. Roger kept focusing between the road and trying to convince his eyes that what he saw was indeed real. 

***

Dan grinned at the sight of a speechless Roger. To the Major, it was obvious that both men were heading for the Paradigm Group. After all, it was the only thing of any importance on this particular road. 


	5. Act 17 - Pawns (Rough Draft 1 Ed)

The Big O : Act 17  
_(Season 2: Highway to Hell)_  
**Pawns**  
_(Rough Draft 1 Edition)_  
by Crystal Acids

**FOREWORD:** Anyone who saw my 'Checkmate' doujinshi idea, this is the original short it was based on. The rest would tell the actions of the night before (end of Act 14/16) when Roger and Dan make it to the Paradigm Group HQ in short "flashback" thoughts from various people reviewing that night.

----------

"Have I told you before how much I hate you?" 

"Hate.. me?" Roger quickly decided to play like he was upset to the notion. Peering at the board, Roger lifted the rook and slid it over to take out a white pawn. 

Dorothy stared at them from the doorway. She had been spying on them for the past 20 minutes without moving a muscle. Using one eye to gaze around the corner, every movement had been recorded into memory. Norman walked around the hallway corner to stumble into this odd picture. In front of him on the floor was a silver tray with sandwiches and drinks waiting to be delivered. And just past the resting silver was the small frame of one R. Dorothy Wayneright who seemed to be watching the two men play chess in the formal living room. Norman started to speak when her right arm raised swiftly to halt his disturbance. 

"Dorothy…?" he continued on without fail. "Weren't you going to give Master Roger and Mr. Dastun their lunch?" 

Dorothy had been pivoting on her left foot and holding the wall to watch the men without being obvious. Knowing that she would have to respond, Dorothy switched to pivoting on her right foot and leaned in toward Norman. 

"Roger said he did not want to be disturbed." 

Norman giggled at the thought. She had been following the instructions given to her to the letter. Norman waved it off, "I don't think that applies to being given their food." 

Dorothy pondered the reasoning for a moment before picking up the tray. Marching in with a humored butler in tow, Roger and Dan gladly welcomed the interruption. Much like the study, this room was rarely used. Few decorations were displayed on the wall and bookshelves with the library's overflow seemed to rest in here. In the center of the room was an old round oak table with a marble chess set currently in use. At first glance, it seemed to be a true battle between the two old friends. 

"That's an unusual story, coming from you that is." Roger grinned. Picking up a sandwich, he bit into his long awaited meal. 

"I don't know what happened to her. When I went back, she had already left." Dastun added. Looking over at the silver tray, Dan snagged up a drink. Norman walked around to the other side and pulled the chess set over to allow room for the food tray. 

"What are you doing" lightly questioned the android as she placed the tray down. 

"Playing a game of kings. Chess is a challenge for the civilized man." Roger gloated. With that, Smith moved his black night around. An over dramatic motion, the piece only moved a few squares. Dan studied the move presented before him. 

Dorothy once again studied the board. Dan moved a pawn briefly to end his turn. Roger glanced at Dorothy waiting for her to leave once again. Norman saw the action and tried to snag her arm as he walked back out but she wouldn't budge. 

"Dorothy.." Roger hinted, "you can go on now. I'll call you when we have finished." Dorothy turned and looked at him. In one movement, she turned 180 degrees and headed towards the door. However, she stopped once reaching the frame. 

"Roger?" she softly prodded. 

"Yes?" 

"Do you know how to play chess?" 

"Of course. And so does Dan. What kind of question is that?" his toned started to grow tiresome of this visit. 

"I only ask..." her voice drifted off and she left the room and continued straight down the hallway towards the stairs... "…because your King has been in check for the past 13 moves by the pawn owned by Mr. Dastun." Roger and Dan looked at the chess board. 

"R. DOROTHY WAYNERIGHT!" exclaimed an unhappy Negotiator. 

***


End file.
